July 26, 2011, 10:20 am
Apple’s App store has been a massive success on the iPhone, iPod, and iPad. They have now expanded that into the desktop and laptop which include carious apps available to download. However the one that caught my eye comes from BlackMagic Design known as Disk Speed Test.

BlackMagic Design bring’s us this app as a free download from the Apple’s App Store. Disk Speed Test allows you to check and test the performance of your hard drive or selected drives for working with HD video. Simply click the button to start and Disk Speed will do the rest providing you with all of the results for various formats. These include PAL, NTSC, 10bit 4:2:2:, 10 bit 4:4:4 , and 12bit 4:4:4. It also displays results for 2K at 24P, and 25P.

The interface is clean, pleasant , and easy to use. While running the application will actually will highlight in red the area it is running either write speed or read speed. It reminds me of an RPM gauge of a race car.

Disk Speed Test provides with options for various stress levels up to 5GB and even givens you the option to save a screen grab for later. This is a fantastic application provided from BlackMagic Design, that provides you with information on whether it will work and how fast. This is really a great tool for any editor setting up an NLE or workflows for editing. At this price point it really makes it a no brainer and a must have application.

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December 5, 2011, 11:22 am
BlackMagic design showcased the UltraStudio 3D back at NAB this year. I have been excited to get my hands on of these for some time. I waited patiently and finally, I got one and I have been testing the BlackMagic Design’s UltraStudio 3D over the past few weeks.

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November 15, 2011, 10:47 am
This week I test out the durability of the ioSafe hard drive. It's fire proof and water proof. I wanted to find out how water proof it is, so I flooded the drive. Check out the video below to see if it still works after the flooding.

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November 3, 2011, 12:17 pm
Today Avid Avid announced Media Composer version 6, Symphony version 6 and NewsCutter version 10 . Avid matins they acer deeply committed to professionals, and are pleased to announce that all of these new applications are 64 bit native.

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October 17, 2011, 10:54 am
Over the past few weeks the folks over at Fast Forward Video have given me the opportunity to test out their sideKick HD. The sideKick HD allows you to capture the highest quality video, with a straight to edit workflow. The sideKick HD is capable of recording directly from the camera up to 10 bit precision, 220Mbit/s , 4:2:2 sampling using Apple ProRes 422 HQ.

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October 10, 2011, 9:43 am
Over the past couple of weeks I have been working with the latest release Tiffen Dfx Version 3. Tiffen has been a leading manufacturer and supplier of photographic filters and lens accessories for the consumer/professional imaging and the motion picture and broadcast television industries for over 70 years.

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September 18, 2011, 9:45 am
Recently I had a great discussion with the Twitter community about picking up a new raid for myself as my older ones were now aging, and I was running out of space. Many people suggested a Thunderbolt drive. However Macbook Pro is only a year old and does not support Thunderbolt, and Apple has yet to release a new MacPro Tower. Thus I really did not see the need for a Thunderbolt drive yet. Enter The CalDigit VR.

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September 12, 2011, 2:43 pm
In a tremendous move, due to the response from the professional editing community for its current Final Cut Pro Crossgrade promotion, Avid announced today that beginning October 1, 2011, it will offer a Final Cut Pro crossgrade price for qualified customers on an ongoing basis. The new crossgrade will allow Final Cut Pro users to purchase the Avid Media Composer®, for $1499 USD. Avid’s current limited-time crossgrade promotion, at $995 USD, ends September 30, 2011.

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September 9, 2011, 10:43 pm
lackmagic Design today announced a new family of super heavy duty Mini Converters that feature a unique design that’s machined from a solid block of aluminum for amazing strength, as well as for protecting connectors. Heavy duty mini converters also include innovative features and technologies such as 3 Gb/s SDI. There are 4 models in the Mini Converter Heavy Duty product range which are all priced at only $295 US.

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August 29, 2011, 11:44 am
BlackMagic Design just announced UltraStudio 3D the world’s first video product with Thunderbolt technology is now shipping. Initially debuting at NAB this past year we have all been eagerly awaiting it’s arrival.